January-February 2002, Vol. 5, No. 1 T his article series has highlighted some of the key characteristics of the 50+ Mega Producers who agreed to be interviewed and were willing to share their approaches, philosophies and techniques that helped them rise to the pinnacle of success in our industry. It is their hope, as it is mine, that this information will assist others in their career development. On average, each person interviewed manages or advises over $1 billion in assets. In an industry that honors producers managing/advising $100 million in assets, it is wise to examine, analyze and emulate the strategies used by those who are 10x more productive. It is highly satisfying to be a regular contributor to Senior Consultant because writing articles on practice management, communications and professional devel- opment topics over the last three years has assisted many readers to go to the next levels of profession- alism. Feedback has been rewarding, and the numerous conversations I've had with readers over the years has led to new insights and understandings. Perhaps the greatest need that I can discern for top level practitioners is the need to "leverage." You only have so many hours in the day, only have so much energy and can only do so many things at one time, that the vast majority of people are at, or near, maximum capacity. Leveraging your time and efforts is the only viable alternative. Working harder, without working smarter, would probably lead to burn-out and/or ineffi- ciency. Almost all of the Mega Producers have decided that they were not going to significantly expand their prac- tices because of quality of life issues. They are satisfied to be where they currently are. So, unless you are also satisfied to maintain your current level of business, the following ideas − some of which have been introduced in previous Senior Consultant issues − will help you progress to the next level. Leveraging Your Time and Efforts: The 10 Best Ideas These ideas are not presented in any order of priority. Most practitioners incorporate many of these ideas with greater or lesser effectiveness. Unlike previous articles, where each idea is fully explored, these ideas are only briefly discussed so that you may quickly identify ideas to enhance your own practice. Mega Producers: Part VIII - Leveraging Your Activities for Maximum Gains Steven R. Drozdeck 1. Contact Management Using an effective "contact management" program is extremely important. The program should be "seam- less" with other software, such as portfolio manage- ment programs. The idea is to enter data only once − preferably via electronic transfer. Manual entry, espe- cially if done more than once, is wasting your or your team member's valuable time. Ideally, your program should help you stay in touch with your prospects and clients with great regularity. In marketing, "touches" is a term that describes some sort of client contact, whether by phone, mail or e-mail. You must be absolutely rigorous in keeping in touch with your clients. Sending "generic" literature and notes is not as effective as sending customized literature and notes. The more you can customize, or personalize, your touches, the higher the impact. What is really good about such programs is that your sales associate can do the vast majority of the work for you. 2. A Dedicated Sales Associate If you don't have a dedicated sales associate, get one. The money you pay him/her will quickly result in additional productivity. It's sometimes amazing to me how some financial advisors try to do everything them- selves − from making the phone calls to stuffing the envelopes. In no other profession would the profes- sional do without assistance. A doctor without a nurse? An attorney without a secretary or legal assistant? Of course not. Enough said. 3. Specialized Seminars Specialized seminars allow you to gather small groups of people with like interests together in a room to give a presentation. This allows for a level of customization and is an excellent way of offering addi- tional value to your clients. It's also a great way to have your clients bring their friends and associates to hear you, the expert. 4. Web-Based Seminars Web-based seminars are something that you should explore to differentiate yourself from your competi- tors.. From the comfort of your desk, you can conduct a seminar over the internet for as many as your prospects and clients who have computers. There are a number of internet services that allow you create a "virtual class- The Voice of the Investment Management Consultant Senior Consultant
Transcript
January-February 2002, Vol. 5, No. 1
This article series has highlighted some of the keycharacteristics of the 50+ Mega Producers who
agreed to be interviewed and were willing to share theirapproaches, philosophies and techniques that helpedthem rise to the pinnacle of success in our industry. It istheir hope, as it is mine, that this information will assistothers in their career development. On average, eachperson interviewed manages or advises over $1 billionin assets. In an industry that honors producersmanaging/advising $100 million in assets, it is wise toexamine, analyze and emulate the strategies used bythose who are 10x more productive.
It is highly satisfying to be a regular contributor toSenior Consultant because writing articles on practicemanagement, communications and professional devel-opment topics over the last three years has assistedmany readers to go to the next levels of profession-alism. Feedback has been rewarding, and the numerousconversations I've had with readers over the years hasled to new insights and understandings.
Perhaps the greatest need that I can discern for toplevel practitioners is the need to "leverage." You onlyhave so many hours in the day, only have so muchenergy and can only do so many things at one time, thatthe vast majority of people are at, or near, maximumcapacity. Leveraging your time and efforts is the onlyviable alternative. Working harder, without workingsmarter, would probably lead to burn-out and/or ineffi-ciency.
Almost all of the Mega Producers have decided thatthey were not going to significantly expand their prac-tices because of quality of life issues. They are satisfiedto be where they currently are. So, unless you are alsosatisfied to maintain your current level of business, thefollowing ideas − some of which have been introducedin previous Senior Consultant issues − will help youprogress to the next level.
Leveraging Your Time and Efforts:The 10 Best Ideas
These ideas are not presented in any order ofpriority. Most practitioners incorporate many of theseideas with greater or lesser effectiveness. Unlikeprevious articles, where each idea is fully explored,these ideas are only briefly discussed so that you mayquickly identify ideas to enhance your own practice.
Mega Producers: Part VIII - Leveraging YourActivities for Maximum GainsSteven R. Drozdeck
1. Contact Management
Using an effective "contact management" programis extremely important. The program should be "seam-less" with other software, such as portfolio manage-ment programs. The idea is to enter data only once −preferably via electronic transfer. Manual entry, espe-cially if done more than once, is wasting your or yourteam member's valuable time. Ideally, your programshould help you stay in touch with your prospects andclients with great regularity. In marketing, "touches" isa term that describes some sort of client contact,whether by phone, mail or e-mail. You must beabsolutely rigorous in keeping in touch with yourclients. Sending "generic" literature and notes is not aseffective as sending customized literature and notes.The more you can customize, or personalize, yourtouches, the higher the impact. What is really goodabout such programs is that your sales associate can dothe vast majority of the work for you.
2. A Dedicated Sales Associate
If you don't have a dedicated sales associate, getone. The money you pay him/her will quickly result inadditional productivity. It's sometimes amazing to mehow some financial advisors try to do everything them-selves − from making the phone calls to stuffing theenvelopes. In no other profession would the profes-sional do without assistance. A doctor without a nurse?An attorney without a secretary or legal assistant? Ofcourse not. Enough said.
3. Specialized Seminars
Specialized seminars allow you to gather smallgroups of people with like interests together in a roomto give a presentation. This allows for a level ofcustomization and is an excellent way of offering addi-tional value to your clients. It's also a great way to haveyour clients bring their friends and associates to hearyou, the expert.
4. Web-Based Seminars
Web-based seminars are something that you shouldexplore to differentiate yourself from your competi-tors.. From the comfort of your desk, you can conduct aseminar over the internet for as many as your prospectsand clients who have computers. There are a number ofinternet services that allow you create a "virtual class-
The Voice of the Investment Management Consultant
Senior Consultant
S E N I O R C O N S U L T A N T
2 SENIOR CONSULTANTJ A N U A R Y - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 2
room" where your voice (over the phone and/orover the computer) accompanies yourPowerPoint presentation. Participants can askyou questions, participate in discussions, workon case studies and a host of other capabilities(the subject of a future article). For thosereaders with clientele scattered throughout thenation or throughout the world, this is animportant capability. Once you conduct aseminar, a recording of that seminar can bemade available for others to download andview. It can be captured and easily enhanced tobecome a “personal touch” to existing clientsor a CD tutorial for prospects. This will defi-nitely set you apart from the competition.
Of course, you can use the same technologyfor individual meetings. It's better than merelyusing the phone but not as good as face-to-face.If you are interested in seeing how this mightwork for you, please contact mycompany, The Progress Center and/orenroll in one or more free demonstrationsin June 2002. We'll be demonstrating thetechnology while offering a series ofseminars on topics such as portfolio attri-bution, team building, further insightsinto the Mega Producers, advancedlanguage patterns and practice manage-ment considerations. Some of thelecturers are regular contributors to SeniorConsultant.
5. Fine-Tune Your Business witha Board of Directors and/orAdvisors
Many top practitioners meet with a board ofdirectors or advisors to fine-tune their busi-nesses. Such boards are becoming increasinglypopular as practitioners realize the benefits ofoutside help and the power of leveraging talent.Because of new technologies, it is possible toconduct these meetings more regularly and tohave board members scattered across the nationor the world. While most people prefer face-to-face meetings, the ability to see the otherperson in real-time, over the web, provides aviable alternative.
6. Team Development andDivision of Labor
Team development and a division of labor isprobably the most effective and efficient way
to leverage your business potential. It was iden-tified as a top priority by the vast majority ofMega Producers and is a very popular topic atindustry conferences. A well developed teamallows you to provide the higher levels ofservice demanded by wealthy clients. If you aredealing with high net worth/ultra high networth individuals or institutional clients, yourbusiness infrastructure (people, policies andsystems) must be up to the task. Consistentlydelivering a high quality product or service, inany industry, requires a high level of employeetraining, systems that are polished andconstantly being refined, and business policiesthat clearly identify the client as No. 1.
Developing effective teams means puttingthe right people in the right job. That is, "jobfit" is essential to job efficiency and satisfac-tion. Some functions require the ability to work
with people, others with technology, whileothers with detail. Each job must be thoroughlyanalyzed and the right person found for that jobfunction. That person must, of course, be ableto interact with other team members. There areexcellent team building coaches that can assistyou. Developing a good team is too importantto be left to chance.
Team development also includes educatingyour staff in basic financial product knowl-edge. Understanding the environment and howwe help people attain their financial goals,gives staff members a higher level of personalsatisfaction.
7. Objective Analysis of YourBusiness
Systematically analyzing your business isanother important factor. Within the financialservices industry, it is common to see much toomuch time and effort spent on bottom-tierclients to the detriment of the top-level clients.Interestingly, too many advisors give coach
service to their first class clients, short-changing the clients who are often providingmore than 80% of the revenue for the practice.When that occurs, those advisors are also short-changing themselves and their goals. Most ofus derive immense satisfaction from helpingour clients "identify, define and achieve" theirgoals. If we spend inordinate amounts of timeon smaller accounts and neglect the primeaccounts, we run the risk of sabotaging ourpersonal goals.
You must ask yourself where you want to befive, 10 and 20 years from now. How do youwant to spend your day? What type of lifestyledo you wish to have? Your answers help deter-mine the type of client you should be dealingwith now and should be prospecting for.
The simplest way to analyze your businessis to assign point values to clients for assets
under management, revenue generated,referrals given, service required, etc.; andcategorize clients, based upon an objec-tive analysis, into four or five groups.Take the bottom group and either movethem to a higher category or give them toanother advisor, that is, cull the bottomgroup. Do an extensive demographicstudy of your top two groups and thenbegin a marketing program aimed at
getting clients like your best clients. (If you'dlike a sample point system to use and moredirection in its use, please feel free to e-mail meat [email protected].)
8. Effectively Profile Your Clients
It's interesting that most advisors have onlya vague idea about their clients’ real needs,goals and desires. (In my opinion, the majorityof "financial advisors" at various banks andbrokers/dealers barely know enough abouttheir clients to determine suitability.) Weshould know virtually everything about ourclients. Their financial needs and wants is onlyone step − and not even the first step. Weshould know about their dreams, what theywant to do for their families and communities,their purposes in life, what they value, etc.Only then can we help them truly "identify,define and achieve" their goals. At that pointyou become the conductor or maestro and helpclients orchestrate all the elements of theirfinancial and life plans. Other advisors with
You must employ people,technology and planningto effectively leverage
your talents
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whom they may have contact must toot theirhorns to your tune.
9. Get Referrals
Get referrals. This is obvious but not doneoften enough. As noted in previous articles, thestandard referral generating techniques/approaches don't work very well. The key toreferrals is to help clients attain their goals,then allow them to bring others to you whomay have similar goals. To a large degree, it’sbased on various laws of human interaction andon how we categorize information. Forexample, if you ask me if I know anyone whoneeds a good advisor, I probably couldn't tellyou because everyone I know whyo needs agood advisor already has a good advisor. But, ifyou ask me if I know any other parents, forexample, who might want help in funding theirchild's education, I can probably name a dozen.When you've helped me achieve some signifi-cant goal, I, based on the law of reciprocity,"owe you one." What better way for me torepay my debt to you than in referrals?
10. A Strong, ComprehensiveBusiness Plan
In one sense, this is an offshoot of analyzingyour current business and effectively profilingyour clients. You already have certain areas ofspecialization that are readily identified whenyou analyze your business. When you effec-tively profile your clients, you are able tofurther refine (and define) the added value thatyou offer as well as the areas of expertise thatyou and an extended team (attorney, CPA,insurance specialist, etc.) can offer. Assumingthat you are satisfied with this information, youshould then develop a business plan that helpsyou achieve predetermined, progressive,worthwhile personal and professional goals.
Your future is too important to be left tochance.
The business plan should include yourmission statement, values, personal and profes-sional goals, the markets you are going topursue, the strategic relationships and alliancesyou need, your marketing plan, and when youhire additional personnel, contingency plans,etc. There are many good books on developingbusiness plans that you can read. The point isthat the most effective small, medium and largebusinesses have business plans. Every majorcorporation has a business plan. Since yourbusiness is probably an essential element inyour long-term success, can you afford to leavethings to chance? No. Make a business plan.
In Conclusion
You must employ people, technology andplanning to effectively leverage your talents.Hopefully, this article has caused you toconsider some additional ways to maximizeyour potential and productivity.
About the Author
Steven Drozdeck has been involved in thefinancial services industry since 1974. He hastrained over 55,000 financial professionals inall aspects of their profession and written overnine books and numerous courses. In 2001, heformed The Progress Center. He and 25 otherfinancial experts deliver 300+ courses atdifferent levels of sophistication and depth,dealing with such topics as Sales Strategies,Practice Management, Product Knowledge andMotivation. From new producers to topproducers and from sales associates to salesassistants, the courses are designed to increaseproductivity and professionalism. For moreinformation about these courses, call TheProgress Center at 435-753-8848 or visit theirweb site at www.TheProgressCenter.com.
